AFL Sydney & AFL Canberra – Men’s Pre-Season Club Invitational Week One Preview
Written by Sam Zikman (AFL Sydney)
This Saturday sees the commencement of the AFL Sydney & AFL Canberra – Men’s Pre-Season Club Invitational with matches being played at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval, Gungahlin and Aulich Park, Queanbeyan. The competition will be held over three weeks, with the top four teams proceeding to the Finals in week three (for prize money).
Fixture – Week One (Saturday, March 9):
Gungahlin Enclosed Oval, Gungahlin
- 11:00am: Pennant Hills Demons vs. Gungahlin Jets
- 1:00pm: Inner West Magpies vs. Batemans Bay Seahawks
- 3:00pm: St. George Dragons vs. Tuggeranong Valley AFNC
Aulich Park, Queanbeyan
- 11:00am: Belconnen Magpies vs. UTS AFC Bats
- 1:00pm: Queanbeyan Tigers vs. East Coast Eagles
- 3:00pm Eastlake Demons vs. South West Sydney Blues
Preview – Week One:
There are some fantastic matches in week one, including the debut of the South West Sydney Blues at this elevated level of competition, who commence with a challenging first match against the early season premiership favourite in AFL Canberra the Eastlake Demons. The Blues will be out to prove a point, and commence their campaign with a win, noting they will be playing at home in week 2, on the wide-open expanses of Monarch Oval (Bob Prenter Reserve). Should the Blues get the win on Saturday vs the Demons, they will consider themselves in a great position to qualify for the Finals in week three.
The UTS AFC Bats have a tough start, with reigning AFL Canberra Premiers the Belconnen Magpies ready to welcome the Bats to the Nation’s Capital for the 11:00am game at Aulich Park. However, the Bats have recruited well in the off-season (noting several players will be playing in Ainsley for the AFL Sydney Under 22’s match and therefore unavailable for this match) and will be looking to take it up to the Magpies.
Pennant Hills and Inner West Magpies will be expecting to take a victory from week 1 of the invitational, with the Demons facing a much-improved Gungahlin outfit, however, the Jets do not boost the level or depth of quality the Demons possess. The Magpies have drawn the only community competition team from Canberra (not competing in highest level of AFL Canberra in 2024) in the invitational, however, the Seahawks are aspirational and have plenty of young talent on their list.
It will be very interesting to see how a new look St. George Dragons and East Coast Eagles fair this Saturday, both have had differing off-seasons with the Dragons losing some key talent either to retirement or to other clubs outside Sydney, including Ben Hodgeson who recently signed with Coolamon Rovers. However, the Dragons have plenty of young talent to step up and lead, the ‘Young Dragons’ may just surprise a few this season and if Finnigin Ritchie can continue his rise (and keep kicking goals from 60m out) – count the dragons out at your own peril. The East Coast Eagles have recruited and retained talent exceptionally well this off season. Of note, the massive news that Andrew Browning who was arguably the best tap ruckman in the league for many seasons (including in the NEAFL) is returning to the club in season 2024 to help Gavin Jones (Head Coach) guide a very talent young list of Eagles which includes several playing for AFL Sydney in the Under 22’s team.
Next week, the invitational shifts to Sydney at Goanna Park in Greystanes (Gipps Road Sporting Complex) and Monarch Oval, Macquarie Fields. With each venue hosting three matches.
Although matches in week one (March 9) and week two (March 16) will not be live streamed please be sure to check out the scores as they happened on the series PlayHQ page – Click here.
Finals matches in week 3 (March 23) will be streamed live on the AFL Sydney Facebook page.
